Title rivals Piastri and Norris bid to secure teams’ crown for McLaren at Formula One Azerbaijan GP

Championship leader Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris resume their world title battle in Azerbaijan this weekend, but could also secure McLaren the constructors’ crown.

Having won 12 of the 16 races to date this year between them, Piastri and Norris are already on the brink of wrapping up McLaren’s 10th team title with seven races to spare.

But the team-mates are also locked in a race for the drivers’ world championship, with Piastri leading Norris by 31 points after the Briton cut his lead last time out in Monza.

Despite Max Verstappen’s victory at the high-speed Italian Grand Prix, the return to a street circuit where Piastri triumphed last year should enable McLaren to resume normal service.

But accidents and incidents are often part of the spectacle in Baku.

Norris can ill-afford another slip-up after retiring from the Dutch Grand Prix last month due to a mechanical failure.

McLaren can clinch the constructors’ title with a 1-2, which would be their eighth of the season already.

They could also secure the trophy on Sunday by outscoring Ferrari by nine points, providing Red Bull or Mercedes do not win and collect a big haul of points.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is seeking a fifth consecutive pole in Baku.

However, despite some signs of improved form for Ferrari, Leclerc has been unable to win in Baku in the past and is without a victory this season, while team-mate and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is still without a podium finish.

Red Bull’s ‘step forward’

Verstappen, who has proved he can out-perform the potential of his Red Bull car, remains a threat and was buoyed by his Monza victory.

“Monza was incredible for us and we made a good step forward with where we want to be with the set-up of the car,” he said.

“The win has been a huge boost for everyone and I have been back at the factory this week to celebrate, which has been great, and on the sim to prepare for the next race.

“Baku is always a bit more of a challenge and you have to find a compromise... I’m hoping we can carry our positive form into this weekend.”

McLaren lead Ferrari by 337 points in the constructors’ standings after 16 of the 24 races.

A McLaren title triumph would make them the second most successful of all-time behind Ferrari who are expecting to be strong in Baku.

“We are historically always in good shape in Baku,” said team boss Fred Vasseur, who added that Ferrari’s main goal is to finish second in the teams’ title race ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull.

“Unfortunately, for us, McLaren is on another planet.”

Mercedes will also arrive with much to prove again after an unimpressive weekend in Italy where rookie Kimi Antonelli suffered an “underwhelming” day on home soil, according to team chief Toto Wolff.

“We lost some ground in Monza and we know we need to perform better in the closing eight races if we are to come out on top,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli says he has extra motivation to iron out mistakes at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff branded his performance ‘underwhelming’ at the last Formula 1 race in Italy.

“I think it was mainly related to the race, which I agree wasn’t the best. But I took it positively, as fuel to do even better for this race weekend,” Antonelli said on Thursday.

Wolff was critical of various aspects of Antonelli’s performance at his home race at Monza, where the Italian driver finished ninth and was beached in the gravel in practice. Wolff also suggested the 19-year-old rookie needed to leave behind the baggage of other incidents this season.

“In Monza, why he felt the race was underwhelming, which I agree with, is because especially on the hard (tires) I made a lot of driving mistakes,” Antonelli said. “The conversation was pretty clear, he just wants me to have a clean weekend to regain the momentum I had.”

Antonelli’s first F1 season in place of Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes started with five-point finishes in his first six grands prix and a record-breaking sprint race pole in Miami, but has tailed off since.

He’s done best at unfamiliar tracks outside of Europe, including his only podium finish of third in Canada, and poorly at the European circuits he knows well.

In recent races, arguably Antonelli’s biggest impact on Mercedes’ fight with Red Bull and Ferrari for second place in the constructors’ standings was crashing into Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Austria and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the Netherlands.

“The European season has been quite tough, and now I’m really looking forward to the last part of the season again out of Europe,” he said. “It’s always a bit more calm and I have a bit more time for myself. I’m really looking forward to clean weekends and getting back the momentum and that’s what the team wants.”

As Antonelli’s performances have declined, other F1 rookies have impressed.

Isack Hadjar raised his chances of a promotion to the main Red Bull team with third place in the Netherlands last month, while Gabriel Bortoleto has four top-10 finishes in the last six races in his uncompetitive Sauber.

Antonelli was a late replacement for teammate George Russell at a news conference on Thursday after the team said Russell was feeling unwell and needed to rest before Friday practice.

Russell hasn’t missed a race since his F1 debut in 2019. Mercedes’ reserve driver is Valtteri Bottas, the 10-time race winner who is joining new team Cadillac next year.

Agencies